11.09.2018

It's Friday. Let's Get Out Of Here.















at 2:00 PM

Random Friday Morning Thoughts



  • Get me this duck! (It's a Mandarin Duck which oddly showed up in Central Park a couple of weeks ago, disappeared for a while, but then came back.) 
  • The Rangers have released a new logo for the final year of their ballpark. It still seems bizarre they are going to tear that place down after only 25 years. (And we have forgotten that a bunch of poor people had their home torn down via eminent domain to build that thing in the first place.)
  • A convicted sex offender who has been in the Wichita County, Texas jail since Christmas on a new sex charge bonded last week after his family won the $15 million lottery on Halloween.

  • This Senate race is turning out much differently. Florida is now in full Gore v. Bush mode, and the Arizona race is still too close to call but leaning towards the Democrat. Amazingly, if both of those turn to be Democrat wins, it all comes down to the strange (procedurally at least) Mississippi runoff to decides who controls the Senate. Then again, Mississippi ain't gonna have no Democrat represent them. 
  • Speaking of Mississippi voters, this guy thought it would be a good idea to wear this to his polling place. His employer wasn't pleased, and he was fired.
    A very odd "States' Rights" shirt
  • Ruth Bader Ginsberg fell and broke three ribs and was hospitalized. It makes me uncomfortable that what seems to be the fate of the nation depends on the health a very frail 85 year old.
  • This is true:
  • Trump ordered the flags flown at half-staff after the Thousand Oaks shooting. Seriously: Let's just leave them at half-staff. They truly spend more time there than at full staff. That way when we see them all the way up we can know, just for today, things are at least temporarily stable.
  • The "acting attorney general" who replaced fired Jeff Sessions seems like a little bit of nutcase. And after reading this New York Times op-ed piece, it seems crystal clear that Trump has no constitutional right to appoint him in his temporary position without the advice and consent of the Senate. 
  • What happened to the caravan? I thought we were being invaded! (It's a perfect example how Trump plays the press.)
  • An all new Christmas station (groan) has appeared in the metroplex although this confused me as to how to tune it in:
    It's actually 102.1 ("A Cumulus station")
  • How does Sarah Huckabee Sanders keep her job after the clearly edited video of Acosta is still pinned to the top of her official government Twitter account?  "And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became truth." — George Orwell, 1984.
  • The DA of Navarro County who died last month won re-election. This is kind of understandable. He was unopposed and a vote for him might be considered the equivalent of signing a guestbook. 
  • A North Texas student acts disgustingly stupid on social media and he gets outed in the comments. 
  • There is a huge fire in California in and around Paradise. I used the same headline as below for the Paradise, Texas fire in 2008. This newspaper front page comes from Chico, California. Paradise and Chico in California are 14.1 miles from one another. Paradise and Chico in Wise County are 13.3 miles apart. 



at 8:31 AM

11.08.2018

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts


  • The Random Thought Girl™ was meant for yesterday. I've entitled this piece of art, "All Of Us After The Election". 
  • While you were sleeping: 12 murdered inside a country and western bar in Thousand Oaks, California. Another day in America as we surpass our last mass shooting eleven days ago.
    Borderline Bar and Grill - site of shooting

  • One overlooked huge Democratic win was on the Dallas Court of Appeals. Eight Democrats were elected to get a majority on the 15 member appellate court. And you can't just right it off as "It's just Dallas. What did you expect?" Those judges are elected at large from Dallas, Grayson, Hunt, Kaufman, Collin, and Rockwall counties. The last Democrat to win was in 1992. It is now full of Plaintiffs lawyers. (I know one Wise County lawyer who is trying to hold on to a multi-million dollar judgment in that court.)
  • I've seen at least four dead deer the last couple of days along the roads in Wise County after being struck by vehicles. A Bambi-hunting friend of mine says they are in a "rutting period." Males are in crazed yet aggressive stupor looking to mate, and females are running from them. Neither are paying much attention. 
  • Well, Trump fired AG Jeff Sessions (the first confederate monument he is willing to take down) for ethically recusing himself in the investigation of, well, Trump.  Newly elected Republican Senator Mitt Romney sends his greetings via a warning shot: 

  • "I think I am a great moral leader." "I don't know who Lil Jon is." - Trump in a bizarre press conference yesterday. 
  • Trump later suspended the press pass of CNN's Jim Acosta for "placing his hands on a young woman" during the press conference. Hey, he can be antagonistic but that's a lie. (Video). And that's also a bold excuse to use by the Grab-'Em-By guy.
    An intern gets her 15 mintues of fame.
  • Here's the danger of the modern world: Already there is a video at normal speed but with a slight edit distorting Acosta's hand gesture by speeding it up for a split second. It was made by the nutcase InfoWars organization and has has been shared tens of thousands of time including the White House. "Video, once the end-all central validator, is becoming as vulnerable to politicized distortion as everything else."
  • Tell me this is just a coincidence: I picked up some "Oreo Chocolate Bars" out of the discount Halloween bin. I had never even heard of them and certainly had never bought them before. I checked out with a credit card like I always do, and now I'm seeing promoted ads for those cookies on my Twitter timeline. 
  • The news underlying yesterday's bullet point on Texas Congressman's Will Hurd race was being changed as I wrote it. The current status. 
  • Dallas Morning News: If you want to hire 20 hookers for a party ("No mom, no fat girl or whatever"), it'll cost you $40,000 with $5,000 down. Cocaine and Viagra can be part of the package. 
  • "Twelve children accused [a] former preacher at Haslet Church of Christ and and proprietor of Mr. Don's Whistle Shop [of sexual assault]." He was murdered in the Tarrant County jail yesterday.
  • The winner of the NASCAR race in Fort Worth didn't win after all. That's all that sport needed as attendance and TV ratings continue to plummet. 
  • Here's newly elected Texas Congressman Colin Allred playing for Baylor and sacking OU's Rhett Bomar.



at 8:32 AM

11.07.2018

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts


  • I nailed all my political predictions from yesterday: Cruz won, the GOP kept the Senate, Dems took the House, and Creuzot won the Dallas DA's race (but that wasn't even close with a 60/40 split).
  • I missed Cruz's margin of victory because it was much closer than expected. And make no mistake about it: Texas is now close to Purple and on its way to turning Blue. Specific proof of this in addition to Beto's dramatic showing is Allred beating Sessions in a past Republican safe Congressional district, the Democrats flipping 12 Texas House seats (including Matt Rinaldi losing) and Connie Burton and Don Huffines losing their Texas Senate seats. To be fair, Burton probably lost because she has the rare traits of being both incompetent and unlikable.
  • Watching the Beto/Cruz race live was really odd. It was neck and neck for over an hour and it looked like we were in for a long night when all of a sudden ABC and NBC called it for Cruz. They were obviously right, but it came out of the blue.
  • Wise County proved it was not part of the Metroplex. Beto managed to get 44.8% in Denton County, 49.8% in Tarrant County (won) and 66% in Dallas County (won). He got 16.9% in Wise County. (A Houston buddy of mine said he was surprised Beto did as well as he did in Wise County.)
  • There is not a Republican judge in Tarrant County who isn't a little bit uncomfortable this morning regarding upcoming elections. They've seen what has eventually happened in Harris, Dallas, Bexar, and Travis counties. And now it is happening to Tarrant.
  • West Texas and the Panhandle is always fun to look at for Republican strongholds. The Right Wing winner last night appears to be Roberts County with 95.9% going for Cruz. Nineteen people voted for Beto.
    Roberts County Courthouse is bigger than I pictured.
  • (Edit: I’m not sure if the following is correct )The craziest race was that of incumbent Texas Republican Congressman Will Hurd. The Secretary of State showed him winning with 100% of the ballots in and the networks called it accordingly. Then in the middle of the night the SoS said there was an error in Medina County and Hurd ended up losing by 282 votes. 
    This turned out to be incorrect.
  • Make no mistake bout it, Democrats taking the U.S. House is the most consequential result from last night. Now nothing will get done legislatively in Washington -- and that's a good thing. And Trump will learn about the Balance of Powers for the first time in his life. 
  • And if you hate political ads, get ready for 2020. It'll be Armageddon. Texas has been ignored in the last decades in the presidential race because it was solid Red -- no need for either candidate to spend money here. Last night proved that can't be taken for granted. So we'll get to see a ton of ads for Trump and his opponent. 
  • Dennis Hof, the deceased owner of the Bunny Ranch, won in Nevada. 
  • I'd vote for her: I linked to the "Sad LSU Girl" on Monday who CBS found during the LSU/Alabama game. She has been found, and she's a good sport.
  • Let's end the political season with Triumph,The Insult Dog, talking to Cruz.
  • Messenger: Above The Fold.




at 8:36 AM

11.06.2018

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts



  • Election Predictions (because I'm kind of an expert at this): (1) GOP keeps the Senate, (2) Dems take the House, (3) Cruz win by 6 points.  I'll believe the Texas Blue Wave when I see it, but 6 points or less means it is coming quickly. That being said, there is something weird in the air, and no one knows what this heavy turnout means.
  • The hardest race to call is the Dallas DA. But if forced to put money on it, I'm taking Creuzot  over Faith Johnson. Straight ticket Democratic voting will hurt her in a razor thin race.
  • Then again, I'm no political historian like this guy:
  • I voted early and for the first time in my life I voted angrily. I understand all the memes of "Me voting in 2016 vs. Me voting in 2018." 
  • I forgot to mention that America's most famous Klansman supports Trump's new (and fake) race-baiting promotion.
  • That ad has now been banned by all major networks, including Fox News and Fox Business. So let this sink in: An ad created by Trump's campaign is too racist even to be shown by Fox News.
  • The most ridiculous graphic by a local TV station in the history of graphics. (Look at those defensive players as he tries to explain how Amari Cooper will be like Dez Bryant.)
  • Man, Jason Garrett was mad after last night's loss:
     
  • That's was a horrible accident, but there is no way DPS can say why someone just runs off the road. Looking at a phone? Argument with passenger? Sleepy? Something else? Yep, all are possibilities and no one will ever know.  It's all conjecture.
  • Well, we've got another prostitution sting operation in Texas. This time 75 people were arrested. The mind boggles as to the expense of the taxpayers since agencies "working with [Montgomery County] sheriff’s office were the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, Houston Police Department, Conroe Police Department, Montgomery County Precinct 3 Constable’s Office, the Department of Public Safety, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Attorney General’s Office, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. State Department." Sheesh. (And solicitation of prostitution is a misdemeanor.) 
  • I miss the old singing and dancing GAP ads. (I think they are bringing them back this year.)
  • I had almost forgotten about this Harris County case. The first trial ended up in a mistrial. Yesterday, he was convicted the second time around. (I continue to believe that the Double Jeopardy Clause should bar retrial after a hung jury. The State should get one shot.)
  • This is surprising: Lowe's is closing 20 stores. (But only one in Texas and it is not in Decatur.)
  • Sean Hannity before and during Trump's rally last night. Liars gonna lie. (Buddy, your whole show is a Trump rally every day.)
    Before

    Later
  • Star-Telegram home page on Election Day: Five Cowboys stories under the "latest" news and the main story is on the team as well.
  • Think about being a Washington D.C. resident. Today you are part of 700,000 people (more than the entire states of Vermont or Wyoming) and don't get to vote on a House or Senate member. 

at 8:36 AM

11.05.2018

Random Monday Morning Thoughts



  • Why did a Texas coach who won eight state championships and compiled a record of 192-10 at Richland Springs quit last month after seven games at his new head coaching job? Hint: His kid was threatened and he wouldn't put up with it.  Story.
  • “I noticed all that beautiful barbed wire going up today. Barbed wire used properly can be a beautiful sight.” - Trump at a Montana rally this weekend after news footage showed U.S. troops laying barbed wire at the border.
  • We had a white middle aged man and military vet  kill two people and injure five at a yoga studio in Florida.
  • I have a lot of questions about this "promoted" tweet (meaning paid) from Saturday from an account which has 12 followers. (And even more confusing is that up until late September the account simply retweeted Trump's rantings.)
  • Some folks in Parker County support Cruz and fear "Deep State Demon Rats."  (h/t Bud Kennedy):
  • College football: (1) I don't think I ever seen a quarterback look so frustrated as time was running out, basically say, "Screw it. Snap the ball!" and throw a rainbow laser like Will Grier did against Texas to win the game, (2) Oklahoma has to go the Morgantown for the last regular season game of the year and then will turn around the next week and face WVU again in the Big 12 Championship Game, (3) Tech might have beaten OU if their quarterback hadn't suffered a collapsed lung for the second time this season (4) Maybe my favorite meme of all time from the LSU/Alabama game set to "The Sound of Silence".
  • We moved closer to Idiocracy on Friday when Trump and Iran conducted foreign policy with fake Game of Thrones posters:
  • And HBO was not pleased with Trump's trademark violation:
  • Some teachers in Idaho thought it would be good idea to go as Mexicans and a Wall for Halloween.
  • I continue to worry about the Star-Telegram's home page. The "latest news" this morning are three stories on Stephen A. Smith (???) and one on high school football.
  • I've heard sports radio stations and even conservative talk radio dedicate segments to the Bohemian Rhapsody film. That's paid promotion.
  • Justin Nelson is taking no prisoners in his campaign against Ken Paxton. What a place to make a speech from:
  • I would not mess with 60 year old Alec Baldwin.
  • Messenger: Above The Fold.

at 8:32 AM
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